The latest book in the MMP White Series is this survey of all surviving Avro Lancasters, around the world. The author describes the operational career of each aircraft, the sometimes tortuous routes by which they survived, and describes and illustrates their current status and condition. Photos of the aircraft in service and after are joined by comprehensive detail photos of their current state, showing all aspects of the airframes and highlighting the superb restoration work seen on them. Seventeen Lancasters are represented, currently in Britain, Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

This book is dedicated to all those who have worked so hard over the years to save and restore these magnificent warplanes, and also to those who flew and serviced the iconic “Lanc” during its long service career, in WW2 and after.

Essential reading for all who love this amazing aircraft, especially those who can’t afford the round-the-world ticket to see them all!

Along with the Spitfire and Hurricane, the Avro Lancaster is probably the best known of Britian's WWII aircraft. It was this plane along with the Halifax, that truly carried Britian's night bombing campaign to the Germans during that war.

Surprisingly, and much of this thanks to its post war usefulness, there are over a dozen aircraft still surviving in museums today. Some of these are silent static displays, some are functional though not flying, a couple are airborne from time to time and some are in the process of restoration.

This new book from Mushroom Model Publications looks at all seventeen extant airframes. It provides a basic history of each aircraft and how it came to be where it is. It probably isn't surprising that the majority of these planes were build in 1945 and did not see operational use during the war. These planes survived because they were low airframe hours aircraft and were able to see post-war use with either Canada or France. Indeed, those aircraft currently in Australia, New Zealand and France were ex-French Navy aircraft while most of those in the Canada, Great Britain and the US were ex RCAF planes. with many of the Canadian planes being removed from poles and outdoor display prior to restoration.

Each section on an aircraft has a photo of it as it was in service or as it was found and then there are many pages of the plane as it is today and/or while it was undergoing restoration. These images are, for the most part, in full color. The interior images are probably the most interesting as some have been restored to WWII standards or as near to them as possible, while others have been left as they were when procured and some have been modified for seating or are still somewhat vandalized.

In all, it is a superb look at these old veterans and is an absolute must read for any Lancaster or war bird enthusiast.

Cybermodeler.com  2011-08-06

by Ray Mehlberger

Date of Review October 2010

Mushroom Model Publications (MMP) is based in the UK. Their books are printed in Sandomierz Poland by their associate Stratus Publications in the English language. Stratus also does books in the Polish language too.

This latest book in the MMP White Series is a survey of all surviving Avro Lancasters around the world. The author describes the operational career of each aircraft, and the sometimes tortuous routes by which they survived. The book describes and illustrates their current status and condition.

Photos of the aircraft in service and afterwards are joined by comprehensive walk-around type detail photos of their current state, showing all aspects of the airframes and highlighting the superb restoration work being down on them. There are 336 color photos and 27 black and white ones showing these Lancasters.

Seventeen Lancasters are represented, currently in Britain, Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. They are located at:

Australia

NX622 at Perth, Western Australia

W4783 at Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

Canada

FM104 at Toronto

FM136 at Calgary, Alberta

FM159 at Nanton, Alberta

FM212 at Windsor, Ontario

FM213 at Hamilton, Ontario

KB839 at Greenwoo, Nova Scotia

KB882 at Edmundston, New Brunswick

KB944 at Ottawa, Ontario

France

NX664 at Le Bourget

New Zealand

NX665 at Auckland

United Kingdom

KB889 at Duxford, Cambridgeshire

NX611 at East Kirby, Lincolnshire

PA474 at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire

R5868 at Hendon, London

United States

KB976 at Kissimmee, Florida

The book is dedicated to all those who have worked so hard over the years to save and restore these magnificent warplanes, and also to those who flew and serviced the iconic “Lanc” during its long service career in WW2 and after.

Essential reading for all who love this amazing aircraft, especially those who cannot afford a round-the-world ticket to see them all. The book has great interior and exterior shots of these Lancasters. Which will be of enormous help to modelers of this aircraft.

The book is soft-cover and 144 pages long in 8 ¼” x 11 5/8” format.

Highly recommended

www.scalemodellingnow.com  2011-08-06

Reviewed by Geoff Coughlin

[Check out Finished Now for the excellent feature article on Tamiya’s impressive 1:48 scale Avro Lancaster. This title from MMP will prove to be an invaluable reference – probably the best available to scale modellers anywhere in the world! Geoff Coughlin, Editor SMN]

Go on then…guess, how many? Five, maybe even six? Guess again… no less than 17 survivors. Unbelievable and sadly only two still in airworthy condition – PA474 known to all in the UK and one Lanc FM213 still flying in Canada. It is unfortunate that of the 17,000 Lancasters built only this few survive – there was little appetite after WWII for aircraft preservation when most people wanted to get on and put the war behind them.

The latest book in the MMP White Series is a survey of all surviving Avro Lancasters around the world. The author describes the operational career of each aircraft, the sometimes tortuous routes by which they survived, and describes and illustrates their current status and condition. Images of the aircraft in service and after are joined by the comprehensive detail photos of their current state. These show all aspects of their airframes and highlight the superb restoration work seen on them. Seventeen Lancasters are represented, currently in Britain, Canada, France, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

The all-colour walk-around style images covering the interior of the airframes will undoubtedly tip the scales for many aircraft scale modellers and I can’t recommend the coverage highly enough – excellent. I particularly like the chapter layout, working through each country that still has an airframe and dealing with all that reside there.

This title is dedicated to all those who have worked so hard over the years to save and restore these magnificent aeroplanes, and also to those who flew and serviced the iconic “Lanc” during its long service career, in WW2 and after.

So from a modellers’ perspective this is an ideal choice – it has most of what we look for – plenty of good full colour imagery, well researched and authoritative text and, perhaps best of all, it will save you the expense of travelling to five continents trying to visit them all! You can read all you need to know from you favourite chair. Indeed, this good book will appeal to many beyond the scale modelling fraternity – those with a general interest in aviation, military history and of course, all who have had anything at all to do with the Lanc.

With so many decent scale models of the Avro Lancaster available from Tamiya, Hasegawa and Revell and Airfix all you need to get started is a good quality reference. Increasingly we are being treated to really excellent one-stop shop reference works and this just went up by one. Well done to Glenn White and MMP for adding another excellent volume to the shelves.

Highly recommended

Geoff C.

SAMI December 2011  2011-08-06

Amazon.co.uk Bestseller list  2011-08-06

IpmsUSA.org  2011-08-06

Reviewed by: Dan Mackay, IPMS# 47000

I was very excited to have the opportunity to review this title. I am very fortunate to have two of these featured Lancasters in my own back yard. I drive past the Calgary Aerospace Museum every day to and from work, I often stop in to view FM136 found on page 33. Also my inlaws live in southern Alberta and we visit them once or twice a month, highway 2 takes me thru the heart of Nanton and the Nanton Lancaster Society's FM159 (page 41) almost fully operational Lancaster MK X. As well my local club RMMC (Rocky Mountain Model Club, IPMS) holds its annual regional contest in the Nanton Lancaster Hangar usually the last weekend in May or the first Weekend in June (next contest June 4, 2011). So I have had the opportunity to climb inside and see the inside of this magnificant beast. Also during the contest the Society rolls the Lanc outside and fires up the two starboard engines (hopefully on June 4 the inner port will also be running). The sound of those merlins running is breath taking and you have to fight back the emotions.

Glenn White has collected an impressive album of the 17 surviving Lancasters from around the world (Australia:2, Canada:8, France:1, New Zealand:1, United Kingdom:4, and USA:1). The pictures show them in their wartime livery, post war livery and in their present states. Photos include details of each Lancs interior with each Lancs distinct uniqueness. Each Lanc has its own unique history including where they were made, the units they served in, and story on how they ended up in their present homes. The photos are printed on glossy paper and are very clear with loads of detail which is perfect for the super detailer out there. All in all there are 144 pages of Lancaster nervana.

So if you have a soft spot for the Lanc you will not be disappointed, I would like to thank IPMS reviewers corps and especially Mushroom Model Publications for the review sample.

Possibly of more interest to historians and aircraft enthusiasts rather than modellers, unless they wish to model one of the museum aircraft in which case there are many interesting interior shots to help them.

Reviewed by Glen Porter

F i r s t R e a d

There were 7377 built but only 17 survive today and all are in major museums around the world. We are talking, of course, about the Avro Lancaster, a World War II heavy bomber that we almost didn't get and which some believe was the best of the war.

Modified from the failed Avro Manchester, it became the mainstay of RAF bomber Command for the second half of the war and served some over-seas air forces well into the 1950s.

There are two in Australia, a whopping eight in Canada, one each in France and New Zealand, four in the United Kingdom and only one in the United States. Each is covered with a history from factory to museum, a few early B&W photos and a host of colour shots of the interior and exterior of before, during and after restoration. The majority are Canadian built, hence the number there, but only two had extensive WW II histories, 'S for Sugar' in England and 'G for George' in Australia, both having high mission tallies, 90 for 'George' and a staggering 137 for 'Sugar'. Four are ex French machines as France and Canada were the last two users, one in Western Australia, one in France, the Kiwi example and one in the UK.

Only two are currently airworthy, FM213, Canadian Warplane Heritage Hamilton, Ontario and the Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight's PA474 seen regularly at UK air shows.

Conclusion

In modelling, it is often stated not to rely on restored aircraft for reference purposes but if you want to model one of these museum Lancs, this book is perfect. You won't have to worry if the restorers have been historically accurate or not and there are plenty of full colour pix to show just what they have done. If you just want to know how cluttered and what detail existed in one of these aircraft, again, you can't go far past this one.

InsternetModeler.com  2011-08-06

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

The bomber war during the Second World War yielded some iconic aircraft. While the B-17 became ubiquitous with the USAAF in Europe, for Britain it was the venerable Avro Lancaster that captured the spotlight, both in the hearts of the English and the gunners of Germany. The night bombing raids of the RAF became the subject of many a book and movie, including the famous Dambusters movie. Given the importance the Lancaster played during the war, one would expect to find a fair number surviving, and this book highlights those seventeen survivors.

Given that there are only seventeen survivors, it is surprising at how spread out these aircraft are. While they are located heavily in Commonwealth countries, they are still found in just about all corners of the globe, from Canada to New Zealand. The specific aircraft covered are NX622 and W4783 in Australia, FM104, FM136, FM159, FM212, KB839, KB882, and KB944 in Canada, NX664 in France, NX665 in New Zealand, KB889, NX611, PA474, and R5868 in the United Kingdom, and KB976 in the United States. Each aircraft has a short history on its operational career as well as the post-war history leading up to its exhibition. Some of these histories are very fascinating and will undoubtedly be inspirational for the modeler.

In addition to the written text, which is nicely done, each aircraft has copious photos provided, from Second World War black and white shots to current in-museum color walkarounds. The photo coverage provides a very useful examination of both details and color & markings, again making this book very useful for the modeler. Overall, this is an interesting way to present the Lancaster, and as such forms a great addition to an already existing Lancaster library. It also has the added benefit of providing a useful trip planning reference, as the wide range of locations makes it possible to plan a family trip with a short side trip to a Lancaster.

IPMS UK Magazine 01/2011  2011-08-06

Military Aircraft Monthly 2011  2011-08-06

Amazon.com customer review  2011-08-06

Beautifully illustrated with original and new pictures, March 22, 2011

By John Matlock "Gunny" (Winnemucca, NV)

7,377 Lanc's were built during World War II. About 4,000 were lost in action. Seventeen confirmed planes remain. The rest were scrapped as were untold thousands of other aircraft. Lancs operated in all theaters of the war and carried a heavier bomb load than any other bomber. This beautifully illustrated book is a detailed survey of all the surviving Lancaster airframes worldwide. Contains full details of their operational careers, subsequent histories, and present whereabouts and condition. The book is fully illustrated with photos of the aircraft some collected from the time when the aircraft were new and operational, other pictures show the planes as they were when restoration began, at various stages of their operational careers, during their reconstruction and as currently preserved.